


Booster Gold and Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

by middnighter



Category: Booster Gold (Comics), DCU (Comics), Justice League International (Comics)
Genre: Fix-It, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Major Character Undeath, Ted Kord Lives, Time Travel, Trans Booster Gold
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-13 05:27:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13563840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/middnighter/pseuds/middnighter
Summary: Booster has a very bad day, and time-travels back to Ted, the only man who always believed in him, no matter what.





	Booster Gold and Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

**Author's Note:**

> This is my contribution to the boostle giftathon treat or treat event! 
> 
> The prompt I picked is: booster has a truly Shit day and travels back in time for some h/c because ted is the only one who doesn’t think he’s a piece of shit (booster v2, if fic MUST HAVE HAPPY ENDING!!!)
> 
> If you're the person who prompted it, you can let me know and I'll gift this to you.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

Booster was having an extremely shitty day.

It started horribly, with a stubbed toe, a burnt breakfast and coffee spilled all over his favorite shirt. To make things even worse, it was a terribly bad dysphoria day, and he wanted nothing more but to rip his skin off.

And after that shitty morning he had to skillfully place Superman and Batman at the same place at the same time, to prevent some space slugs from killing the entire human race. And he didn’t even get a thank you. No, he only got contemptful and disappointed looks. _Oh, here’s Booster Gold again, the joke, the fuck-up, the failure. He puts our profession to shame._

And yes, he knew what he was signing up for when he accepted the time-traveling gig. If his time-traveling enemies figured out his identity, they would use it to kill him when he was still a baby —when he would be a baby, since he was born in the future? time travel was confusing. So he had to throw away any and all ambitions of ever getting famous or getting any recognition for being a hero.

He saved the entire multiverse, Hell, he saved all of time and space, and no one would ever know. Usually, he could repress it and not let it bother him that much, but it was really getting to him today.

The only people who knew were Rip, who had lied to him to get him to take the job and only had criticism to give to him, and Skeets. And, well, Booster liked the robot and its dry humor, but it wasn’t the same as seeing thankfulness in somebody’s eyes.

The only person who had stayed convinced that Booster wasn’t an entire piece of shit was Ted, and Booster couldn’t even bring him back to life.

Oh, he had tried. And for a few hours, Ted was standing in front of him, breathing, laughing, _alive_. And then it was all gone, and Booster had to stand there and watch as Ted died for the second time. Ted who had told him he wanted Booster to smile when he thought about him. Well, Booster was finding that a little hard to do. Right now, crying seemed like a better option.

He wished Ted was here. Sure, they had their ups and downs, and their stupid fights, but in the end it didn’t matter, they always ended back together, and Ted always knew what to say to make him laugh, even when he was feeling like crap.

He would give an arm to have Ted back, even only for a few minutes, only for a conversation, a hug.

_Everything has been different since you left. How am I supposed to go on without you? Please come back._

_I miss you._

It was too hard, Ted being so close and having to let him go. It was asking of him an amount of strength that he didn't think he had. His job involved traveling through time, and he couldn’t even save Ted?

Maybe all the superheroes were right. What good was Booster, really, if he couldn’t save the more important person to him? If he couldn’t even do that?

“I miss you,” he whispered. He rubbed his cheeks and his eyes with the back of his hand. Rip was working on something —sounded technical, Booster didn’t ask— in his workshop, and Booster didn’t want him to see him like this. He walked into the time sphere and sat down on the floor.

He needed to be alone. In the stupid, useless time machine that couldn’t even bring Ted back.

But maybe…

It couldn’t bring Ted back, but it could bring Booster back to Ted.

It was a terrible idea. Rip wasn’t going to be happy. There were so many reasons why he shouldn’t do that.

But Booster had never done well following the rules, and he was getting desperate. He needed to see Ted.

He walked to the control panel, pressed a few buttons, and the sphere jumped into the time stream.

* * *

 He decided to stop during one of the years he and Ted spent on bad terms, after the JLI disbanded. Booster was married to an old woman for her money —truly not his brightest moment—, and Ted was retired from the crime-fighting business. This way, he wouldn’t accidentally run into a younger version of himself, and the odds of creating a paradox were as small as they could be, in this situation. If he was going to break the rules of time travel, at least he was going to do it _well._

He cloaked the time sphere and parked it in an empty alley near Ted’s penthouse. He walked to the door. He couldn’t believe he was going to see Ted again.

Once he reached the doorstep, he stood there for a moment. The reunion was probably going to be stormy. At this point in time, they weren’t talking anymore, and Ted was surely carrying some resentment, like Booster had been at that time. It all seemed so futile now, their stupid fights. In a few years Ted was going to die. The fact that past-him didn’t spend as much time as he could enjoying Ted’s company while he still could was making his chest ache, and his eyes burn.

He rang the doorbell, heart racing.

The door opened. “Booster?”

Ted was in front of him, blinking in confusion, and Booster found himself at loss for words. Ted was younger than the last time he saw him, of course he was, and Booster wasn’t ready for how breathtaking it was to see him, in loose-fitting jeans and with his hair ruffled. Alive and well. Whose biggest worries were the prototypes his company was experimenting on.

His throat tightened.

“Hi,” he eventually said, scratching his arm in a falsely casual way. If he didn’t keep his hands busy he wouldn’t be able to resist to bury his face in Ted’s shoulder and hold him tight for as long as he possibly could.

“You’re not my Booster,” Ted said after looking at him up and down. “You’re… older.”

“Yes, I’m— I’m from the future.”

“I’ve heard that before,” Ted said, crossing his arms. He opened his mouth to say something, then looked at Booster’s face, and changed his mind.

Ted was always so good at reading him, and Booster felt a hug away from collapsing.

“What do you want?” Ted eventually asked, looking rightfully annoyed.

“Can I come in? To watch the game tonight. With you. Please?”

Ted looked like he was seriously considering shutting the door in his face and the only reason why he hadn’t done it already was that Booster looked miserable.

Booster did his best to keep a straight face. He knew that this Ted was mad at him, for leaving the League, for marrying Gladys, for letting them drift apart, and there was nothing Booster wanted more than to apologize, hold Ted tight and never let him go.

And even if Ted did close his door, even if he asked him to leave, Booster would still be happy. Because he got to see Ted, one more time, and that was enough to brighten his day. And what did that say about his life, that his best friend being pissed at him was the best thing he had seen all day?

“Okay,” Ted said, and stepped out of the way. “Come in.”

Booster could have kissed him. Ted was always too good for him, believing in him when no one else did, even if he was angry, even if they were fighting.

“Thank you.”

He walked into the penthouse, looking around him. It looked just like it did in his memories. Ted disappeared in the kitchen, so Booster just stood there. In another time he would have laid down on the couch, put his feet on the coffee table, annoyed Ted for his attention as he was working on some tech thing, but right now he was happy just existing in Ted’s space.

Ted got out of the kitchen with two mugs. “Tea for you,” he said, putting one of them in Booster’s hand. “Careful, it’s hot.”

Booster’s fingers were tingly where Ted’s hand brushed against them.

Ted sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. Booster sat down next to him, but not too close. Not as close as they used to. Ted welcomed him into his house, but he was still mad at the Booster from his time, and Booster wasn’t expecting to be immediately forgiven. Even if it would be nice to be able to skip the awkward part and get back to cheering for one of the teams and making fun of the ads.

Once he finished his tea he put the mug away, and started tugging at his sleeves. He was having a hard time focusing on the game. His attention was taken by Ted, who wasn’t moving around much except for taking an occasional sip of his coffee, his face dimly lit by the light coming from the screen.

It was a strange feeling, seeing Ted so close, after living through his death twice. Seeing him doing something as familiar and mundane as watching a football game. It was like everything was okay, which in their line of work was far from the standard. Like time had stopped around them to give them a moment to breathe, and if he moved the spell would break.

A few times Ted quickly glanced at him and raised his eyebrow as he caught Booster staring. Booster’s face snapped back to the TV for a moment, but he inevitably found himself glaring at Ted again, almost without noticing it.

The distance between them felt weird. Before, when they weren’t fighting for some stupid reason and they had those TV nights, Booster would poke Ted’s cheek when he was not expecting it, rest his head on Ted’s shoulder, or put his legs on his lap, and more often than not they would fall asleep like that. And his neck would hurt like hell in the following days but it was always worth it.

Booster was always very tactile with Ted, and tonight, he kind of missed it. Being next to him without getting that closure felt like watching him through a looking glass.

But he wasn’t entitled to anything coming from Ted. Just being here next to him was enough. Even if Booster was dying to reach out, touch him, hug him, and let himself disappear in Ted’s warmth. Ted, who always believed in him, no matter what shitty situation he was in.

He was trying his best to keep his emotional turmoil to himself but something on his face had to have betrayed him, because something in Ted’s eyes changed. The hint of annoyance was gone, and replaced by what seemed like concern, or maybe pity.

After a moment Ted sighed, turned to him, opened an arm and said, “Come here.”

Booster scooted closer, and hesitantly put his arms around Ted’s shoulders, burying his face in the crook of his neck. As soon as he felt Ted’s skin against his own, a sob tried to break through his throat. Ted was holding him tight against his chest, his fingers were playing with his hair. “It’s okay,” he said. “It’s okay.”

Booster started crying.

He cried for Ted, he cried for his sister, he cried for everyone he had seen die, for everyone he couldn’t save.

The steadfast rhythm of Ted’s fingers in his hair eventually managed to turn the loud, ugly sobs into quiet sniffles. Booster’s eyes were burning.

“What happened to you?” Ted asked, his hand moving from his hair to his neck.

“I can't tell you,” Booster said, voice hoarse. “Time travel stuff.”

“There must be something you can tell me.”

Booster swallowed, and tried to steady his voice. “In the future, I’m— I’m still a joke. I saved the universe, Teddy, I saved them all, and no one knows, no one knows, they all think I’m the same conceited and self-centered kid I was when arrived here.”

“Why don’t you tell them that?” Ted’s voice was soft, his breath warm against his neck. There was nowhere else in the world where Booster would rather be.

“I can’t, it’s part of my cover. But, I still feel so alone.”

“What about your Ted, the Ted from your time? He is here for you, right? I haven’t given up on you, have I?”

Booster wanted to start crying again.

“I can’t tell you,” he managed to get out. “It could mess up the timeline, if you knew too much.”

“Well, for what it’s worth,” Ted said, clearing his throat, “you’re a hero to me, Booster. Always have been.”

A hero who couldn’t even save his best friend.

“I’m sorry, Ted,” he said, and he couldn’t prevent his voice from breaking. “I’m sorry I left, I’m sorry we’re not talking anymore, you deserve better than a friend who _abandons_ you like I did—”

“Stop saying that,” Ted interrupted him. “I’m not exactly blameless for that situation. And you're a good man, the best one I know.”

Booster didn't say anything. If he opened his mouth he might start crying again, and he had ruined Ted’s shirt enough for the evening. So he listened to Ted’s breathing, trying to lose the tension in his shoulders.

He suddenly felt exhausted, like he had been awake for a week straight and was only now able to sleep.

“Stay here with me,” he mumbled in Ted’s shoulder, his eyes closing.

“Of course,” Ted said.

Booster started to doze off, and barely registered Ted whispering, “If you’re going to fall asleep you need to get your binder off.”

He grumbled but did it anyway, turning away to roll his shirt off, his eyelids half closed. “Little help?” he asked, raising his arms.

Ted tugged at the binder to get it off him. Booster had forgotten how nice it was to be able to remove it in one go and not have to hop for a few moments with his arms stuck above his head to get it off. It wasn’t something he was comfortable having Rip —or anyone who wasn’t Ted, for that matter— help him with anyway.

Booster put his shirt back on, and turned back into Ted’s arms. “G’night,” he yawned, eyes closing.

He vaguely registered being moved around, so that they were lying down instead of sitting next to each other, and he fell asleep like that, his head resting on Ted’s chest.

* * *

Booster woke up feeling more rested that he’d been in ages.

It took him some time to realize where he was. For a moment he was only aware of the presence of a warm body under him, which was way too comfortable for him to have any desire to move.

When he managed to open his eyes, and he saw Ted’s face, just a few inches away from him, he had to fought back the diffuse urge to wake him up with a kiss. So he did what he always did whenever those feelings bubbled to the surface, which was willing them away and burying them deep.

Instead of giving in to urges he had been knowing for years he could never act on, he let himself enjoy the rise and fall of Ted’s chest under his cheek for a moment, before untangling himself from his arms, very slowly as to not wake him up.

He tiptoed to the kitchen. Cooking Ted breakfast was the least he could do, after last night.

Ted’s fridge was filled with bland and depressingly healthy premade dishes. And plain oatmeal wasn’t very appealing.

He put on his binder, grabbed his flight ring, took some money from the counter, and flew to the closest grocery store.

* * *

 Booster was at the cooking station when Ted woke up.

“That smells good,” he said, rubbing his eyes and grabbing a stool to sit behind the counter.

“Thanks,” Booster said, sliding a plate in front of Ted. “I made you pancakes. And they’re healthy. Sugar-free, fat-free, and everything good-free, so you have no excuse not to eat them.”

“So you believe in my heart condition now?”

Booster rolled his eyes, grabbed a plate for himself, and sat down in front of him. “I don’t want you to throw away my food, so I'm playing along.”

“You should play along more often,” Ted said, his mouth half full, “because those pancakes are really good.”

“Of course they are. I am amazing at everything that I do.”

“And you wonder why people call you conceited.”

“Shut up and eat your damn pancakes.”

Ted chuckled and did as he was told.

It was so good to see Ted like that, happy, laughing and bickering with him, _alive_. Booster would trade everything to be back to these times.

When they were done eating their breakfast, they washed the dishes together, Booster doing the washing and Ted drying the plates and putting them back in the cupboard. Booster splashed water at Ted, who retaliated by slapping him with the dish towel.

They ended up having to clean the entire kitchen.

* * *

 Their lazy morning stretched into a lazy afternoon, and Booster didn’t want to leave.

“I have to leave,” he told Ted anyway. “Hunter will be mad if I stay here for too long.”

“And I have to go to work,” Ted said with a wince. “I hope they didn't blow up anything while I wasn't there.”

“Aw, you skipped work to spend time with me?” Booster asked. “I’m flattered.”

“It's not everyday that your best friend time travels to see you. And,” Ted said more quietly, “it looked like you needed it.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, go back to saving the world, hero, and leave me to the hell that is bureaucracy.”

Booster laughed. “Yeah, good luck with that.” He grabbed his jacket and walked to the door, turning around to wave Ted goodbye.

Ted was staring into his eyes and licking his lips, an expression of sheer vulnerability on his face, like it was the last time they would see each other and he didn’t want to let him go.

And suddenly Booster didn’t have it in him to leave anymore. He stayed on the doorstep, trying to push the inevitable farewell as far away as he could.

“Will I see you again?” Ted eventually asked, his voice small.

“I don’t know,” Booster said.

“I won’t tell anyone, I promise. I won’t even tell present time-you. Not that we talk much anymore anyway.” Ted scratched the back of his neck. “I… I missed you.”

It was taking all of Booster’s strength to stay in place and not pull him into a hug. “See you around, Ted,” he said instead.

* * *

 “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Rip asked with his arms crossed, looking accusatoringly at Booster, who was stepping out of the time sphere. “Do you have any idea what something like this could do to the timeline?”

“No, Rip, I don't," Booster sneered, "because I’m a fucking idiot who never listens to you."

Rip pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is serious, Michael.”

“I am serious!” For the first time since Ted died and he was powerless to save him, again, he was feeling in a good mood, and he wasn't about to let _Rip fucking Hunter_ ruin that for him. “I gave up everything to help you, everything, and my one condition was to rescue Ted. Which you lied to me about! And now that we have a perfectly functioning time machine I’m not even allowed to pay him a visit?”

“You don't know what it could lead to! What if we end up with another apocalypse on our hands?”

“Do we? Did a harmless visit to my best friend cause an apocalypse, Rip?”

Rip opened his mouth, and closed it. “As a matter of fact, no,” he eventually said, pinching his lips. “It had no major impact on the timeline.”

“Ha! See? It's harmless.”

“It doesn’t matter. You can't do that again.”

Booster was definitely going to do that again.

* * *

The rules of time travel make no sense, Booster thought as he was trying to fall asleep that night, focused on something that wasn’t the lack of a warm body under his.

So the past could not be changed, only the future could. Which was why he couldn't save Ted, according to Rip, since he died in the past.

But the past and the future were relative to one’s present. They weren't fixed time periods.

Booster often said that he was from the future, but another way to see it was that he came from the present and was currently in the past.

If that was true, if Rip’s theories were accurate, he shouldn't have been able to do anything worthwhile, since he was living in the past, and the past couldn’t be changed.

Since he was in the past, he shouldn’t have been able to make a difference. Some cosmic force would have ensured that he failed in everything he tried to do, just like what happened when he tried to save Barbara.

But that just wasn’t the case, he did do all of those things. Booster saved many people, he changed the course of history in major ways, like with how he saved the President from an assassination attempt.

So it was possible to change the past, since he had already done it. He was the living, time-traveling proof that it was possible to some extent. But it was also, at the same time, not possible, and he would inevitably fail if he tried, because that was how time travel worked.

Booster was getting a headache.

In the morning he would ask Skeets to get him everything they knew about Ted’s death. If there was even the tiniest of hopes that there was a loophole somewhere, he was going to find it.

* * *

 It became something of a habit, coming back to Ted after a particularly hard day, when his absence was too difficult to bear alone. He had to sneak around to use the time sphere, since Rip still wasn’t on board with the idea, but other than that there was no big issue, no apocalypse, no hole in the fabric of the universe.

So it worked out pretty well.

Booster usually brought the food, Ted picked a movie or a TV show that Booster had never heard about but that was apparently a classic he _had_ to see. They talked about their day, Booster without mentioning any details that might give away the future, and Ted told him about how business at his company was going.

And they fell asleep together on the couch, just like old times.

Which should have been embarrassing. They weren’t children anymore, but it was the only way that Booster got a full night of rest, without any nightmares or night terrors. And it seemed that Ted needed this as much as he did.

After the JLI disbanded and they lost touch, Ted hung up his cowl and threw himself into his work, and Booster’s visits were the only moments when he actually relaxed and took time for himself.

It shouldn’t be working that well. In Booster’s timeline, Ted was dead, and clinging to a past version of him wasn’t helping him moving on. And Ted was still not talking to the Booster from his timeline, even if it was clear that he longed for it, so he was settling for the time-traveling version of him. Ted never brought up the subject anyway, so Booster didn’t either.

That night, they were watching a football game. Booster was cheering for the Gotham Knights and Ted for the Patriots, just to spite him.

“I am the only person that you’re visiting in the past?” Ted asked during one of the ad breaks.

“Well, I’ve talked to Ralph, actually. But the time sphere blasted him with something that made him forget about it, so that doesn't really count.”

“Are you going to blast me too?” Ted asked, putting on a fake pained expression, betrayed by the corner of his lips twitching in a smile.

“Of course not,” Booster answered on the same tone. “And I don't blast everyone I meet. Like, I saw Guy in a bar before he became Green Lantern, back when I started the time travel thing, and I didn't mess with his memory.”

“Really? How was he like?”

“Weird. He was wearing this wool sweater that didn't fit him at all.”

“Did you take a picture?”

“Man, I wish I had. We could have made fun of him for _years_.”

“Yeah, I bet,” Ted grinned.

The game was back on, and they turned their attention back to it.

“It's funny,” Booster said after a moment, “I didn't realize how much he changed until seeing him like that. He was still in the closet, he totally freaked out when I offered him a drink, because he thought I was hitting on him.”

Ted snorted. “We all know how that ship sailed. Is he still with Kyle?”

“Yes, they moved in Oa together, I think they opened a bar there?” Booster took another sip of his beer. “Anyway, I can't believe I told him I was straight. But you know, I didn't want to weird him out too much.”

It took him a few seconds to notice that Ted was staring at him, eyes wide open.

“Aren't you?” Ted asked in a small voice.

Shit. For a moment Booster considered backpedaling. Any other time, he would have. But he decided not to. Ted’s death had put a lot of things in perspective, including his decision to not share this part of himself.

Booster could do it, he could come out to Ted and not let him know about the feelings he had been harboring for him in secret for all these years. That was definitely something he could do, very easily.

Booster took a breath in and mastered all his courage. “No. I’m bi.”

Ted was silent for a moment.

“That means bisexual,” Booster said. “You know, attracted to—”

“I know what bi means! I’m bi too!”

“Really? Why haven't you ever told me?”

“Why haven't _you_ ever told me?” Ted replied.

And actually, Booster had a really good reason. It being, that what most guys said when their friend came out as attracted to men was something like _but you're not into me, right?_

Booster would have had to answer to that. And Booster was a bad liar who didn't want to lose his best friend.

“I don't know,” he said instead of the _because I didn't want you to know I was in love with you_ that was burning the tip of his tongue. “It can be kind of hard to figure it out when you’re trans, I guess, and it took me some time, and then it never really came up.”

Ted was still staring at him. And Booster was praying to anything that would listen that his little stunt didn't cost them their friendship. If he lost that, he didn't know how he could keep going on.

Ted’s lips turned into a smug smile. “I can't believe you almost hooked up with Guy Gardner.”

Booster made a face. “Oh come on, keep making fun of a man trying to find love. You heartless monster.”

Ted’s laugh was a bit too loud to be genuine, but it dissipated the tension between them.

* * *

 “I should put a lock on that damned thing.”

Booster didn’t take his eyes out of the panel hung on one of the walls of his bedroom. “Why haven’t you done it already?” he asked absent-mindedly. He was focused on the files, the maps, the pictures he printed earlier. There had to be something he could use.

Rip cleared his throat. “I know you would end up bypassing it and do as you please, so I don’t really see the point anymore.”

Booster took the cap off of his marker. “If you’re not going to help, you’re welcome to leave.” He added some notes in the margin of a document. “I need to focus on this, to avoid making a mistake that will end up in the universe blowing up, like you so fear I will.”

“Listen, about that…”

Booster turned his head to face him. “Yeah?”

Rip was leaning against the door, his arms crossed. “I’m sorry,” he said after a moment. “I didn’t mean to lash out that time. I know how much Ted means to you. But it’s my job to keep the timeline safe, and what you’re doing could have extremely serious repercussions.”

“Not if you help me. You’re the Time Master, if there is something we can use here you’re the one who can help me find it.”

Rip walked to him, his head tilted away. “There are things I know that I cannot tell you,” he warned. “I can’t get too involved, for your future’s sake.”

“... But?”

“But I’d rather not have you run in blind and destroy the global world peace again.”

“That was one time!”

The amused grin on Rip’s face looked too much like a smile he knew. “Okay, let’s have a look at this.”

* * *

 The next time Booster visited Ted, he realized how mistaken he had been. He could absolutely not ‘very easily’ handle keeping his feelings in check, not at all. Who had he been kidding? He had never been any good at keeping things from Ted.

This situation was a nightmare. It was exactly why he didn’t want Ted to know, because now things were weird.

Standing close was weird, casual touches were weird, falling asleep on each other was weird, and yes maybe that was always a weird things for friends to do, but that was the thing, back when they both thought the other was straight it wasn’t weird. It was a very self-indulgent thing that two totally-not-attracted-to-each-other best friends did, because they enjoyed it. So what?

But now all of that didn't feel like an okay thing to do anymore. Ted tensed up when Booster leaned against his arm, or touched his hair. Ted shivered whenever their fingers accidentally brushed. So Booster stopped using him as a pillow, stopped hugging him, stopped touching him altogether.

And the distance, the tension between them was driving Booster crazy.

It was like they were back to the first night he came back, too nervous to let themselves be comfortable, except that this time, instead of watching a game they were half way through the third season of a show that Booster was sure he was going to have to watch all over again, since he couldn't seem to focus on what was happening.

At least this time Ted seemed to be unable to focus as well, and Booster didn't know if it was making things better or worse.

From time to time Ted glanced at him when he thought he wasn't watching, and then looked everywhere except at him when their eyes met.

It was torture, seeing Ted licking his lips, out of the corner of his eyes, and raising his arm to rest it over the back of the couch, in a gesture that used to be an invitation but was probably done out of habit, because Ted had been reacting weirdly to Booster's touches all evening.

Booster bit his tongue. Maybe Ted had figured out that Booster was into him, and was just waiting for the right moment to gently let him down. That would explain his distant behavior.

Booster wanted to curl up in a ball. More accurately, he wanted to curl up in Ted's arms, but he couldn't even do that now that Ted got all tense whenever Booster got closer.

Had Booster really been that obvious? Sure, he let himself enjoy the contact, but it was an okay things for best friends to do, right? And Ted never seemed to mind.

Well, he never seemed to mind until finding out that Booster liked men too.

Booster tried to prepare himself for the _I'm sorry, I don't feel the same way_ speech that he was sure was coming, but even just thinking about it made his chest ache.

Next to him Ted was getting more nervous, running his fingers through his hair and not even pretending to watch the TV anymore. And that was it. Booster was not going to sit through that. Better rip the band-aid off now.

"Ted," he said, at the same time that Ted opened his mouth and said "Listen, Booster..."

Ted looked embarrassed. "You go first."

"No, you go first," Booster said, because other than _just shut me down already,_  he didn't have anything much to say, and Ted was well on his way to do that.

Ted turned to face him, and took a deep breath in. Booster could see on his face that he was rehearsing his speech one last time. He wanted nothing more than for this to be over.

Ted opened his mouth, and closed it. "Fuck it," he said, and leaned towards Booster. "Stop me if you don't want this."

He stared at Ted as he took Booster's face in his hands, and kissed him.

It was soft, and tentative, and wonderful, and over way too soon as Ted backed out, his cheeks flushed.

"Tell me I didn't misread this," Ted said.

"You didn't," Booster said. And he took him in his arms, and kissed him again.

It was nothing like their first kiss. This one was passionate and fiery, and desperate, and Booster found himself at loss for air but he didn't care, because Ted's hands were on his back, holding him like Booster was going to disappear at any moment.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted this," Booster said, catching his breath, and went back to kissing Ted, his fingers tangled in his hair.

Ted hummed in response, the warmth of his hands burning through Booster's shirt.

Booster was feeling dizzy. He was kissing Ted, he was _kissing_ Ted, Ted who felt the same way, this was the best day of his life —

Then he remembered the timeline.

"Ted, I need to tell you something."

"Is it that you love me?"

"Well, yeah, I do," his heartbeat rushed and his cheeks flushed at the admission, "but that's not what it's about. Listen to me, you cannot trust Max. He's gonna get the team back together, but it's gonna be just a cover. Trust your gut on this, get help from everyone you can. And" —Booster swallowed— "don't give up on me. Please."

Ted was looking at him intensely. "Of course."

"Alright, here's everything you need to watch out for..."

* * *

 During the ride back to his time, Booster was incredibly nervous.

He trusted Ted with the information he gave him, and what he said should be enough to maintain the timeline as intact as possible, Rip helped him make sure of it. But there was still a lot of ways this could go south. He tried not to think about that too much, resting his head in his hands, and rubbing his temples to ease the headache that was starting to develop.

When he stepped out of the time sphere, everything looked the same. At least, there didn’t seem to be any apocalypse going on. He let out a relieved breath.

Rip wasn’t anywhere in sight, which shouldn’t be surprising, since it was the middle of the night. Booster’s head was hurting worse, and the pain was lingering more than the time travel sickness usually did.

A wave of tiredness suddenly hit him. His mind was getting fuzzy, and right now there was nothing he wanted more than to sleep.

He let himself fall into his bed, not even bothering to turn the light on, and fell asleep right as his head touched the pillow. 

* * *

 Booster woke up slowly, and vaguely confused. His mind was hazy, and as he tried to recall the previous day’s events, other memories started to surface in flashes.

Memories he didn’t have the day before. Like working with Ted to bring Max down, and succeeding.

He opened his eyes and bolted up. They did it! There was still no sign of any apocalypse, and Ted…

“Come back to bed,” Ted was mumbling from under the covers.

Booster’s heart was racing. “Good morning, Ted,” he whispered, as if it was an illusion that speaking any louder would destroy.

“It’s way too early for ‘good morning’s,” Ted said, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

It was probably the most beautiful thing Booster had ever seen. “You’re right,” he said, and lay back down next to him.

“Damn right I am.” Ted drew the covers over them both, putting his arm around him and holding him close.

Booster closed his eyes, listening to Ted’s steady breathing. There wasn’t anywhere else in the world he would rather be.

More memories started to surface.

Making up with Ted, and actually getting along on the team. Convincing everyone to help them and managing to foil Max’s scheme. The team still disbanding, and them starting the time-traveling thing together, as partners and lovers.

“You seem a little spaced out,” Ted asked, stroking Booster’s hair. “Is everything okay?”

Booster looked at him and smiled, overwhelmed by how lucky he was that they turned out good, and how much he loved him.

“Everything is perfect.”


End file.
